Equality and diversity

The University’s People Strategy 2012-16 sets out the vision to recruit and develop the world’s most promising students and most outstanding staff and be a truly global university benefiting society as a whole.

During the 2014/15 academic year the University has continued to make progress on fair employer practices, youth employment and equality and diversity.

Numbers of staff participating in an annual review process continue to improve, with over 95 per cent of eligible staff completing reviews. The Annual Review Steering Group has produced a policy statement, template forms, practice guidance and a package of training opportunities for managers and reviewees. The next year will see further work to enhance the quality of annual review conversations.

The University continues to receive a high proportion of applications for academic posts from international staff, with 71 per cent of applications received for academic vacancies coming from non-UK nationals. In 2014/15, a dedicated relocation support service for staff and their families relocating to Edinburgh was introduced, with an interest free loan facility to support international staff with the costs of visas and the recently introduced Immigration Health Surcharge.

The proportion of women achieving promotion continues to improve. Initiatives to raise the level of understanding of University promotions processes and efforts to create greater transparency have contributed to the increase in women coming forward.

A priority for the University in the next year is to improve on reducing the gender pay gap. The Gender Pay Working Group has done significant work to better understand the gap and its underlying causes and to identify remedial actions. Some of these actions, including increased use of external benchmarking for salary setting both in recruitment and promotions processes, are already being implemented.

The University has partnered with the Edinburgh Guarantee to increase the opportunities it offers to young people. This commitment involves increasing the number of job opportunities for young people, working with external partners to provide school leavers with industry-recognised qualifications, and promoting the work of the Edinburgh Guarantee to other Higher Education Institutions.